Lubbock Left

History will remember that zero Congressional Republicans voted for the economic stimulus package that passed the House today.

Zero.

Zero, even after President Obama met with a delegation of Republican Congressmen.

Zero, even after several items that the Republicans objected to were removed from the bill.

So much for the bipartisanship that Republicans were calling for a week ago.

The Republican solution? More tax cuts for the rich, because that’s worked so well the past six years. (Thankfully, that version failed 266-170.)

Lubbock’s own Randy Neugebauer got in on the act:

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, sought to strip out all the spending from the legislation before final passage, arguing that the entire cost of the bill would merely add to soaring federal deficits. “Where are we going to get the money,” he asked, but his attempt failed overwhelmingly, 302-134.

Obey had a ready retort. “They don’t look like Herbert Hoover, I guess, but there are an awful lot of people in this chamber who think like Herbert Hoover,” he said, referring to the president whose term is forever linked in history with the Great Depression.

Randy’s sudden concern for spending too much money is particularly galling, now that it might actually do some good to do so. I guess Congressional Republicans only want to spend taxpayer money to enrich their big business friends.

The Republican Party is out of ideas, and Congressional Republicans just made fools of themselves on the national stage. If the economic stimulus package works at all, then even the most outlandish gerrymandering (as with our own TX-19 Congressional District) won’t save House Republicans in 2010.